Frost
by Cirolane
Summary: When winter was in its coldest months the scar on King Edmund the Just’s stomach felt as cold as the weather outside.


AN: I'm really on a roll, here is another Narnia fic. Thanks a lot to the wonderful elecktrum for the beta! Read and review, please.

Frost

When winter was in its coldest months the scar on King Edmund the Just's stomach felt as cold as the weather outside.

The young king was lying on his comfortable bed in his castle, Cair Paravel. He was holding a hot water bottle on his stomach. You might think that the young king only had a terrible tummy ache, which would have been a good, educated guess, since you don't know the story behind his discomfort. Edmund would not have minded the slightest if it was just a regular stomach ache, but alas! The boy was experiencing an ache that is much worse.

Up until two years ago Narnia was bewitched by an evil witch. The White Witch made it always winter and never Christmas! The Narnian people saw no way to end their misery until Edmund and his sibling had arrived. Since you are most likely familiar with Narnia's history at the start of the Golden Age, we will jump past all the details; let's just say that Edmund used to be a very beastly boy. He met the Witch and was tempted by her offer of sweets, and so he betrayed his brother and sisters. It could have ended very badly if Aslan had not arrived and saved them. Edmund could have died, but Aslan allowed himself to be sacrificed in his stead.

After Edmund was saved from the Witch's captivity, he was a changed boy. He fought in the battle beside his brother Peter, against the Witch's army.

Now we are finally arriving at the crucial point of our story. In the middle of the battle the White Witch almost killed Peter. Edmund saw it and tried to prevent it. Luckily the young boy had enough sense to strike the wand and not the Witch herself (because then he would surely been turned to stone). He bravely shattered the wand with his sword. After the wand was broken, the Witch stabbed Edmund with it. He could have died. He would have if it wasn't for his little sister and her magic cordial. What Lucy and Edmund didn't know was that inside the wound lay a few ice crystals from the Witch's wand that were stuck in Edmund's flesh. Sadly those crystals were not removed before the wound was healed. Where the wound used to be, there was now an ugly scar.

When the first Christmas the four monarchs of Narnia celebrated as kings and queens came around, Edmund experienced a terrible coldness in his scar. It came every night when the weather was at its coldest. He suffered through until the end of January when it suddenly stopped.

They where all very puzzled at what had happened, but no one could come up with an answer. They consulted every healer in their country but no one could explain it. They were all happy when the agony stopped.

So back to the young King Edmund lying on his bed. Christmas came again, Edmund had experienced an exciting year as king and he had almost forgotten about the curious pain that had happened to him last winter. He thought about it sometimes though and he suspected that it would come again this winter too. He was right. At winter solstice, the darkest day of the year, his scar froze again. It was like frost bitten into his flesh and it kept him awake all night. When morning came the pain lessened down to almost nothing. But every night it came back.

The last few nights he had been unable to sleep and he had used the time to think about his problem. He thought that he had come to the most logical answer and when he shared it with Peter, Susan and Lucy they all agreed that his answer sounded very reasonable. Edmund could never know for sure, but he was confident his conclusion was right: Every night in the coldest months the particles from Jadis' wand that was stuck in his scar longed to get out and make the winter last forever.

They had always wondered why he had that scar. Lucy's cordial never left any scars. They decided that it had to do with the witch's magic. In a way, they were right.

Looking back Edmund doesn't mind it- the scar or the pain. He wouldn't have done it any differently if he had gotten the chance to change it. He saved his brother and he had saved Narnia. Narnia was safe and that was all that mattered. And if he had to bear this curse forever, he could do it. If anything it was a constant reminder on what he used to be like and how he could never let himself be like that ever again.


End file.
